A Typology for Sociopolitical Stance of International Brands in the Case of Ukraine War

Politics can no longer be avoided by brands. In the dynamic world of today where controversial socio-political issues emerge on a daily basis, consumers’ political stances on loaded issues of any particular period could determine consumer-brand relationships. A number of examples in this regard can be found in recent literature. In some instances brands justify their stances by using a “higher purpose” in an attempt to project an image consistent with lack of political involvement. This research aims to analyze strategies adopted by various international brands in regards to the war in Ukraine and attempts to categorize these strategies into various types based on their reflection in domestic and international electronic media. This paper explores why brands taking a sociopolitical stance and using different kinds of positioning strategy under-researched area as a source of leverage for brand attachment. We try to design a typology for brands sociopolitical stance in the case of Ukraine war whether they are long term strategies with higher costs or short time strategies with fewer costs. The main questions addressed in this research are: What do customers expect from brands to take a political stance? How can a brand image change as a result of political stance? What is the purpose of brands’ political stance and how can it be interpreted? Brands seem to have reacted to the Ukraine war because of one or more of the followings: 1. The brand has taken a political stance under the influence of their stakeholder pressure. 2. To create a desired image for themselves. 3. The brand sees its political response to the Ukraine war as consistent with their higher purpose and social responsibility, even if it is financially detrimental. 4. To boost awareness and ultimately increase sales.